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On his journeys across time and space, the Doctor encounters a lot of intriguing characters. Some of them end up as his friends, allies, or even companions, but more often than not, the Doctor faces someone who tries to hurt him. The renewed Doctor Who series has introduced its fair share of villains, from those of human origin to completely alien ones.
The best of them left a strong impression even though they sometimes appeared only once. Of course, picking the best villains of Doctor Who among dozens of them is difficult but the crop of the cream has the added advantage of being highly scary or well-thought-out by the show's creators.
8 The Reapers
Even though the reapers appeared only during a single episode, they still left a strong impression. Simply because even the Doctor himself was unable to defeat them. The reapers are creatures that appear when somebody messes with time, changes something that should happen.
They entered the scene when Rose tried to save her father's life, and they were almost unstoppable and relentless. If it wasn't for Pete Tyler's brave sacrifice, it's more than possible the reapers would have eventually killed not only Rose but everyone else as well.
7 The Vashta Nerada
It's in humans' nature to fear the dark and everything that lurks in it. The Vashta Nerada work on a similar principle since they hide in the shadows. Once they decide to go after someone, they won't stop until they kill their victim.
The two-part story set in the Library is by far one of the scariest since it kills one character after another. Even the Doctor has a hard time stopping the Vashta Nerada. Luckily, he has the help of River Song and other brave people. Still, after watching this episode, some viewers might be reluctant to visit libraries and they will count their shadows for a long time.
6 The Midnight Entity
This villain remains a terrifying mystery to this day. It appeared just once, in the episode Midnight, and the audience never got to see its true face. That doesn't make it any less scary, though. The entity had the power to get into the minds of the characters, take their voice, and go through their brains - the Doctor included.
Once again, it took a brave person sacrificing their life for the entity to be defeated. Even though the entity itself doesn't do physical damage, it causes the passengers to get paranoid, angry, and scared, so they almost end up killing the Doctor in the process. This makes Midnight one of the most intense episodes of the renewed series.
5 The Silence
The brilliance of the Silence is because of their clever gimmick. Once people look away from them, they forget ever seeing them. And fighting an enemy whom the heroes can't remember is very difficult.
The Doctor, Amy, and others solve it by marking their hands whenever they see one of the Silence. Thanks to their abilities, the Silence managed to infiltrate the Earth and they have been around for decades by the time the Doctor learns of their presence.
4 The Weeping Angels
Many fans would have the (un)popular opinion that the Weeping Angels shouldn't have returned to the show. It's true that they were scariest when they first appeared in Blink, one of the best episodes of the new Doctor Who.
Known as the lonely assassins, the Weeping Angels send people back in time and consume the energy of their lives not lived in the present time. Even though they don't kill their victims like so many Doctor Who villains, their demeanor and persistence in going after their victims are still frightening. Especially since it's very difficult to escape them as all humans need to blink sooner or later.
3 The Master/Missy
Unsurprisingly, one of the best villains of Doctor Who is the Master. Even though he only first appears in the third season, portrayed by John Simm, he almost ends up causing the end of humanity. It takes the combined effort of Martha and everybody else on Earth to defeat him.
Another version of the Doctor's enemy is Missy, played by Michelle Gomez. She and the Doctor even join forces for a while but it's difficult to overlook that while Missy is both brilliant and charming, she's also dangerous and deadly.
2 The Cybermen
Another old-new villain is the Cybermen. They're highly efficient in their effort to convert as many people, turn them into machines. They take what makes humans human and only coldness remains.
Their most impactful episodes happen in the second season when they kill multiple people and are also responsible for the separation of the Doctor and Rose, alongside the Daleks. Interestingly enough, they also influence the events of Torchwood since Ianto Jones' girlfriend Lisa is one of the victims of the Cybermen's attack in the second season of Doctor Who.
1 The Daleks
This list wouldn't be complete without the Daleks. After all, alongside the Master, the Daleks are the Doctor's most iconic enemies. Both the old and the new Doctor Who realize this so they included the Daleks in multiple episodes.
For example, the Daleks were indirectly responsible for the Ninth Doctor's regeneration and they also killed Captain Jack Harkness. The Daleks are many in number and their crazy brilliance, as well as their ruthlessness, make them a force to be reckoned with.